EDITORIAL
Trump Announces U.S. Return to the Moon: LaRouche’s Four Laws Are Needed To Get There
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—In her weekly webcast today, Schiller Institute President Helga Zepp-LaRouche discussed, among other strategic issues, the importance of the announcement made by President Donald Trump this past week, about his commitment to revitalize the U.S. manned space program, and take the United States back to the Moon and beyond—to Mars, and to other planets and galaxies, even. As host Harley Schlanger pointed out, this same kind of optimism was reflected in a recent U.S.-China conference on space, in which there was discussion about future collaboration, currently not allowed because, insanely, U.S. scientists at NASA are prohibited from talking to the Chinese.
The point she and Schlanger made, is that the prerequisite for implementing this policy is the adoption of physical economist Lyndon LaRouche’s Four Laws. The new pamphlet, “America’s Future on the New Silk Road,” outlines not only why this perspective is necessary but that the adoption LaRouche’s Four Laws is the only way to ensure its implementation.
Zepp-LaRouche said that she thought there is also an agreement between Russia and the United States to build a lunar space station together. “And the decision by Trump,” on returning to the Moon and beyond, she said, “you can really see who is who when you see how people react to that. ESA, the European Space Agency was completely enthusiastic … the Chinese government expressed happiness about this decision, while the European media basically covered it as if Trump were completely crazy to go back to the Moon—I mean, this is really incredible! And I think all the people who have been in space, the astronauts, they always come back and say, this is an incredible experience, because in space, it doesn’t matter what nationality you are, because you have to rely on each other, otherwise you can’t do such an extremely challenging mission. And a Russian cosmonaut just said: We should develop an attitude to solve problems on Earth with the same spirit with which we cooperate in space.
“And that is a point we [in the Schiller Institute] have been making for a very long time, that once you take the view that man is not Earth-bound … but that we are continuing the process of evolution by not only developing infrastructure across all continents, developing a World Land-Bridge, but that the next natural step of infrastructure development is near-by space, industrialize the Moon as the precondition for larger space flights to other planets; and that is the natural identity of man, that we are part of that universe, and not just Earthlings with limited resources.”
So, Zepp-LaRouche said, “I think it’s a very optimistic thing that President Trump reconnected to the spirit of John F. Kennedy and this is exactly what we have been fighting for, to close the negative cultural paradigm which was the period between John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the end of the Obama administration, when space was really on an absolutely back burner, and no fundamental progress was made.
“I think this is all the reason for optimism and you should really help to get this message out, because the mass media are keeping the lid on a lot of positive developments which would give people an enormous optimism if they only knew about it.”
Zepp-LaRouche also commented, in analyzing the revelations that the Alert has covered in some depth this past week in terms of the sordid coup-plotting against President Trump by an Anglo-American cabal, including the FBI, Department of Justice (DOJ), and the “opposition research” spook firm Fusion GPS, “I think this is turning the whole situation around. Russia-gate is crumbling and this has incredible strategic implications, because this whole thing, if we recall how this developed, was all intended from the very beginning by the Obama administration and the leftovers from the previous Bush administration to prevent President Trump from developing a positive relationship with Russia. And now that this is turning against those who are the accusers, it opens a whole new strategic dimension.”
As Zepp-LaRouche pointed out, referencing the warning of Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, there absolutely is a coup attempt against the President, a “Maidan” operation, like that carried out against Ukraine in 2014, that even Russian President Putin warned about some months ago. “And I think,” Zepp-LaRouche said, “if you look at the dramatis personae, the relevant figures, then it’s very clear, it is exactly the same apparatus which was also responsible for the Maidan in Kiev. So I think this is not the end of the story, but an incredible crime is just being discovered and being brought into the open.”
As Zepp-LaRouche also emphasized, despite the ongoing danger of the North Korean situation, and its nuclear missile capabilities, there are hopeful signs, such as the remarks of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to the effect that the U.S. is willing to negotiate with North Korea without preconditions in cooperation with Russia and China. Although someone at the State Department felt compelled to “modify” Tillerson’s remarks, saying that “yeah, yeah, now is not the right time,” which indicates the ongoing internal battle on every single issue, Zepp-LaRouche nonetheless said the situation looks hopeful. “Naturally, the whole North Korea issue is extremely dangerous, because obviously North Korea now is a full-fledged nuclear power; they have ICBMs which can reach everyplace in the United States, and naturally around the world … and therefore, we are sitting on a powderkeg as long as the U.S. and South Korean, and Japanese maneuvers are going on.
“But there is right now hope, because you had both high-level representatives from the United Nations, from Russia, from China, and even the United States in Pyongyang, and therefore, if right now, Pyongyang would really send the signal of not doing any tests for the next 60 days, and if the United States calls off this big maneuver which should start at the beginning of the year, then this could really be approached. So, especially, if the Tillerson approach to sit down at the table without preconditions is actually maintained, there is, indeed, hope.
“And I think it shows one more time, how extremely important it is that the big powers, the United States, Russia, China, are working together. Because there are several conflicts in the world which cannot be defused if powers are on a confrontation course against each other. So I think it is dangerous, but it is also hopeful right now.”
U.S. POLITICAL & ECONOMIC
Did FBI’s Peter Strzok Write the So-Called ‘Intelligence Community Assessment’?
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—Robert Parry of ConsortiumNews reported yesterday that a source told him that FBI agent Peter Strzok—thrown off the Robert Mueller team after text messages were found in which he conspired with his mistress FBI lawyer Lisa Page and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe against President Trump—had a direct hand in writing the so-called “Intelligence Community Assessment” of Jan. 6, 2017 which asserted that Russia interfered in the U.S. election.
Parry writes, “Whether or not that is indeed the case, Strzok, as a senior FBI counterintelligence official, would almost surely have had input into the selection of the FBI analysts and thus into the substance of the report itself.”
Although that “assessment” was originally touted as a product of collaboration among all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper admitted to Congress in May that it had been put together by “hand-picked” analysts from only three agencies: the CIA, the FBI and the National Security Agency.
Clinton Pollster: Most Voters Believe Mueller Has Conflicts of Interest
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—Bill and Hillary Clinton’s long-time pollster and strategist Mark Penn writes in The Hill today that “63% of polled voters believe that the FBI has been resisting providing information to Congress on the Clinton and Trump investigations. … Fifty-four percent say that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has conflicts of interest that prevent him from doing an unbiased job, also according to this month’s Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll. … Our polling in November showed that 61% say that the funding of the salacious Fusion GPS document should be investigated. Fifty-eight percent say that if Hillary Clinton and the Democrats funded the work, that it could not be used by law enforcement. … Even back in the days of the Monica Lewinsky investigation, which I worked on with President Clinton, the Special Counsel was not seen as having a conflict of interest.”
He concludes, “New facts related to the issue of bias seem to be emerging every day. More important, though, a counter theory has emerged in which the dossier was peddled to the FBI rather systematically, including by hiring the wife of an FBI [sic—DOJ] official, and then, despite its obvious bias and false content, used to start the Russia investigation by agents who were tinged with animus. The theory goes that they signed the wiretaps that were then unmasked by various Obama administration officials, who then were able to snoop on the transition.
“Former FBI Director James Comey, in showing the document to President Trump, didn’t tell him that it was funded by the Democrats because it was all an attempt to entrap him anyway—the insurance policy. A few months ago this certainly seemed far-fetched but today, with each new fact and with the failure of the officials to respond meaningfully to Congress, there is certainly more evidence behind these theories. To top it off, most Americans now also see that the treatment being given to Trump aides is far harsher than occurred with Clinton’s aides, despite their being caught in obvious lies, claiming they did not even know about the email server.
“Someone now is going to have to stand up and have the courage to clean all this up, get to the full facts and reset the whole investigation to look at everything here, from the original Clinton investigation on through the transition. The President’s hands are tied, but the Attorney General could step in or resign. [Deputy Attorney General] Rod Rosenstein and [FBI Director] Christopher Wray could wake up to the reality and act. Maybe there is an Inspector General who could be empowered. When you look at the polling numbers and the stream of revelations, the current course is simply untenable, and likely to go from a crisis in confidence to a full-blown constitutional crisis if not corrected.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Grassley Demands the Evidence
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley wrote to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein yesterday asking for documents which would clarify two of the first batch of text messages exchanged between FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page which were provided to the Committee.
He wrote, “The limited release of 375 text messages between Mr. Peter Strzok and Ms. Lisa Page indicate a highly-politicized FBI environment during both the Clinton and Russia investigations. For example, one text message from Ms. Page proclaims to Mr. Strzok, ‘God(,) Trump is a loathsome human.’
“Some of these texts appear to go beyond merely expressing a private political opinion, and appear to cross the line into taking some official action to create an ‘insurance policy’ against a Trump presidency. Mr. Strzok writes the following to Ms. Page:
‘I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office—that there’s no way he gets elected—but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40….’
“Presumably, ‘Andy’ refers to Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. So whatever was being discussed extended beyond just Page and Strzok at least to Mr. McCabe, who was involved in supervising both investigations,” Grassley wrote, according to Zero Hedge website.
“Another text from Ms. Page to Mr. Strzok on April 2, 2016, says the following:
‘So look, you say we text on that phone when we talk about hillary [sic] because it can’t be traced….’
“That text message occurred during Mr. Strzok’s involvement in the Clinton investigation and days before he interviewed [Hillary Clinton aides] Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills on April 5, 2016 and April 9, 2016, respectively. Thus, the mention of ‘hillary’ may refer to Secretary Clinton and therefore could indicate that Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page engaged in other communications about an ongoing investigation on a different phone in an effort to prevent it from being traced.”
Senator Grassley asks for all the relevant records, including those from “that phone” which “can’t be traced,” and adds, “My understanding is that the Inspector General’s current investigation is limited to the handling of the Clinton email matter only. What steps have you taken to determine whether steps taken during the campaign to escalate the Russia investigation might have been a result of the political animus evidenced by these text messages rather than on the merits?”
COLLAPSING WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM
ARTE Documentary Exposes Draghi’s and City of London’s Role in Monte dei Paschi Crisis
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—A documentary film broadcast by the French-German TV channel ARTE Dec. 12 exposed the role of then Bank of Italy chief Mario Draghi and of the City of London financial center in engineering first, and covering up later, the Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) banking crisis, which has become the pivot of the so-called “Italian banking crisis.”
The film, in French and German on the ARTE website, is entitled “Death of a Banker: Scandal around the World’s Oldest Bank” (“Mort d’un banquier italien” in French; “Tod eines Bankers: Der Skandal um die älteste Bank der Welt” in German), starts from the mysterious “suicide” of the MPS head of communications, David Rossi, on March 6, 2013. It reconstructs the dynamics of Rossi’s fall from the window of his MPS office, with the help of forensic experts and witnesses, to conclude that Rossi could have never done this alone. It then goes into the reasons why Rossi could have been “suicided”: He knew about criminal actions involving very high-level people, inside and outside the bank.
(Meanwhile, the prosecution in Siena has reopened the investigation into Rossi’s death and is conducting new forensic analyses and witness interrogations.)
The film focusses on the three elements of the MPS crisis:
1. The bank’s bizarre acquisition of Banca Antonveneta from Santander in 2008; 2. The derivatives contracts to hide the losses; 3. Large loans to political friends, which became nonperforming loans.
Documents show that Mario Draghi as then governor of the Bank of Italy, ignored his own banking supervisors by allowing the Antonveneta purchase, and cheated on the real cost of the operation. The trail of the Antonveneta acquisition and the eventual derivatives fraud to cover the losses leads to the City of London, where another strange suicide occurred: Will Broeksmit, the former “Risk Assessment Manager” for Deutsche Bank in London. In January 2014 he was found dead in his flat. Broeksmit must have known about the derivative called “Santorini,” which Deutsche Bank had sold to MPS in order to cover losses.
(A trial in Milan has exposed the fact that Bank of Italy at that time was aware of the fact that the derivatives were intended to cook the MPS books in order to cover €500,000 in losses.)
Former Sen. Elio Lannutti, head of ADUSBEF consumer association, says in the film that Mario Draghi is responsible for “criminal activity.”
Financial specialist John Christensen says that the Italian banking system was very solid until it was privatized and liberalized. The film also shows the desperation of small depositors who had invested their savings in the bank and lost them, including through a bail-in of subordinate bonds.
At the premiere of the film in Berlin, the former head of the Association of Public Banks in Germany, Bernd Lüthje, called for separating “normal” banks from investment banks. Normal banks, he said, which manage savings and deposits, should not be allowed to speculate. On the other hand, investment banks should be “strictly controlled,” he said.
In a Nov. 28 interview with Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten, filmmaker Moritz Enders insisted that “MPS is only one example of an entire row of banks which in the meantime have gotten into trouble in Italy. But 25 years ago, Italian banks, including MPS, were very healthy. The privatization wave in the banking and industrial sectors, which was supposed to make Italy ready for the euro, and which played a role in the speculation against the lira, fundamentally changed the situation.”
The euro, however, is now at a dead end. “I really hope that in the [German] Finance Ministry they have a Plan B for the next euro crisis,” Enders said. “In an uncertain situation, a controlled demolition is better than an uncontrolled collapse, which could be provoked by an Italexit. I believe that this issue is of fundamental importance for the EU. And I believe that our film on the Monte dei Paschi helps a bit in the necessary debate.”
Despite a mainstream media boycott, the film is going viral on the internet. David Rossi’s widow, for instance, has posted it on her Facebook site and it is being picked up by many in Italy despite the fact that it can be watched only in French and German.
British Prime Minister Theresa May Suffers Stunning Defeat in Parliament
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—Anti-Brexit rebels in the Conservative Party delivered a stinging defeat to Prime Minister Theresa May by voting with the opposition to pass an amendment to a Brexit-related bill stipulating that any agreement must be brought to Parliament for debate and a “meaningful vote.”
The rebellion was led by Tory MP Dominic Grieve, a former Attorney General who tabled the amendment. He was supported by 10 other Tories, including former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, former Business Minister Anna Soubry, and South Cambridgeshire MP Heidi Allen. Despite strong armtwisting from party whips, the amendment passed 309-305.
According to the Guardian, the amendment limits ministers’ power to make sweeping changes to the law before Parliament has approved the Brexit deal.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn described the result as “a humiliating loss of authority for the government on the eve of the European Council meeting [the Dec. 14-15 EU summit]. Theresa May has resisted democratic accountability. Her refusal to listen means she will now have to accept Parliament taking back control.”
Pro-Brexit Labour MPs, including Dennis Skinner, Grahame Morris, Ronnie Campbell and John Mann, all voted for Grieve’s amendment in order to inflict defeat on the government.
The Guardian cites one party whip who described the loss as a game-changer for the hung Parliament. “It has broken the dam,” the MP said. “It will be much, much easier to do it again. Rebelling once gives you a taste for it. The discipline has been broken and it shows actually that if you do risk it and rebel for something you believe in, you can make a difference.”
May’s defeat yesterday could lead to another next week when the government will try to pass a bill setting date for Brexit as March 29, 2019. If May suffers further defeats and is unable to pass the Brexit legislation, it could spell an early fall of her government and new elections, which could bring the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn into power.
STRATEGIC WAR DANGER
Russian Diplomat Warns of ‘Extremely Dangerous’ Yemeni Situation
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—Russia’s Ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin told TASS today that the situation in Yemen is extremely dangerous. “Honestly speaking, the situation is really very dangerous. We must not rule out that the sides might come from positional clashes to full-scale hostilities. Naturally, it is difficult to talk about prompt solutions under current circumstances,” Dedushkin said.
Russia has halted its diplomatic presence in Yemen and its embassy staff have left the country amid the deepening conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Dec. 12. Dedushkin had already been working from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, since last year, and he warned last week that Yemen risks spiraling into military-political chaos.
Welcoming UN efforts, Dedushkin said, “We are ready to fully assist in the search for compromises. It would be perfect to actively engage the current institution of ambassadors from the countries sponsoring the political process, first of all, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Unfortunately, during the conflict these agencies actually remained idle, despite Russian representatives’ numerous attempts to give them an impetus, and it is not our fault,” he said. The five UNSC permanent members are Russia, China, United States, France, and United Kingdom.
Putin Says He Is Not Opposed to the U.S. Joining the Normandy Four Format on Ukraine
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—At his year-end news conference today, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said the United States is fully involved in the Ukrainian crisis, and he does not oppose the U.S. joining the Normandy Four format to help resolve it. The so-called Normandy Four format was set up after then-French President François Hollande brought together the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and host country France on June 6, 2014, on the 70th anniversary of the Allied D-Day landings on Normandy beach.
Pointing out that he never opposed U.S. participation, Putin elaborated that, “In fact, the United States is taking a full part in the settlement process regardless of whether it is within the Normandy Four format or not. All the same, the United States is deeply involved in and is aware of all the developments there. Should it be formally included in the Normandy Four format? I do not know. In any case, it does not depend on us. I have never opposed the idea,” TASS quoted the President as saying.
SCIENCE & INFRASTRUCTURE
China’s Cosco Shows Interest in Developing Thriasio Logistics Center in Greece
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—China’s Cosco, the owners of Piraeus Port, is reportedly developing a major logistics hub at Greece’s Thriasio logistics center northwest of Athens. Thriasio lies astride the main north-south railway line and is connected through a new direct rail link with Cosco’s container terminal in Piraeus.
The Greek government has already sold a concession involving a 0.59 sq. km plot to the ETVA BIPE-Goldair consortium. The plot is owned by state railway property firm Gaiaose and the sale will be approved in Parliament by next month.
At the same time, the Parliament must ratify the announcement of a tender for the concession of another 1.4 sq. km plot at Thriasio in which Cosco is interested, possibly in cooperation with Trainose, the recently privatized railway operator now owned by Italian State Railway, according to a source from Cosco cited by Greek daily Kathimerini.
The tender for this plot, which Cosco is expected to win, calls for a public-private partnership which requires the bidder to complete a project planned by state railway works company Ergose. This concerns spaces for cargo storage, customs and offices, as well as additional storage spaces, complete with equipment such as gantry cranes. The project represents part of the targets of a three-year economic cooperation plan between Greece and China.
Russia’s Northern Latitudinal Railway Will Speed Up Development of Arctic Infrastructure
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)— Construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway (NLR) in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous region will favor further production of hydrocarbons in the Russian northern regions, will build up the country’s positions in the Arctic and will speed up development of the Northern Sea Routes infrastructure, experts told TASS. The Northern Latitudinal Railway is 707 km long, which will connect the Northern and Sverdlov railways and which will serve cargo from deposits in Yamal’s north. “The new railway will be a transport solution for Yamal, where people cannot have access to the peninsula’s northwestern part or to Salekhard. The project is due to begin in 2018. Experts say the project’s cost is more than 200 billion rubles ($3.41 billion),” TASS reported today.
Deputy Minister of Transport and Head of the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport Viktor Olersky told TASS, “the Northern Latitudinal Railway and the Northern Sea Route add to each other. The railway project will pull from the Russian continental part the northbound cargo and will direct it to other Arctic ports,” providing a direct access to the Arctic Ocean.
According to the VIS Group, a company which will extend the NLR to the Sabetta port, the project’s implementation will open access to the Arctic shelves, and offer the shortest year-round transit of mineral resources to markets in Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
OTHER
London’s ‘Lava Jato’ Corruption Dragnet Comes to Ecuador: Vice President Sentenced
Dec. 14 (EIRNS)—Ecuador’s Vice President Jorge Glas, who was suspended from his post last August, was sentenced yesterday to six years in jail, charged with “illicit association,” and taking bribes from the Brazilian multinational Odebrecht firm to secure infrastructure projects in the country. Glas had also served as Vice President to former President Rafael Correa, and shared his opposition to neoliberalism and IMF austerity policy.
His sentencing is part and parcel of the U.S. Justice Department-abetted and London-directed “Operation Car Wash,” or “Lava Jato” dragnet, which has assaulted Brazil’s national institutions and political leaders, and has targetted other leaders throughout Ibero-America, including former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner under the guise of “fighting corruption.”
Following the pattern seen in Brazil, Glas was accused of taking bribes based on charges made by former top Ecuadorean Odebrecht executive José Conceição Santos, who made a plea deal with prosecutors in exchange for his “cooperation.” He alleged that Odebrecht paid $33.5 million in bribes to Ecuador beginning in 2007 to secure infrastructure deals, and that Glas took bribes via his uncle. Glas will reportedly be charged with several more crimes.
Speaking from Panama today, former President Correa slammed Glas’s sentencing as “a vulgar and cruel political persecution filled with legal aberrations, which is part of the regional strategy to wipe out Latin America’s progressive forces,” the Dominican daily Hoy reported. “This is political persecution in order to illegally and undemocratically take over Ecuador’s vice-presidency,” he charged, and warned that the “criminalization of policy”—the same thing happening to Donald Trump in the United States—“is the new form of persecuting Latin American progressive leaders.” Given what’s happened to Glas, with no evidence, he stressed, “we could all be victims of the same injustice,” giving as examples that ousted Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, former Brazilian President Lula da Silva, and Argentina’s Cristina Fernández have all been victims of the same persecution.
